If I Were Given Wings
by PollenPawprints
Summary: Bro is an angel and their charge has a habit for getting into trouble. Written in little shorts throughout the characters' lives.
1. Infancy

The hospital was mostly quiet, save for the gentle whir of machines and the occasional sound of a newborn crying. All of the lights were dimmed in the room full of newborns and fussing nurses. There weren't too many newborns, but enough that the large hospital had to have a few nurses bustling about.

A figure stood over one of the incubators, looking down at the baby sleeping fitfully inside it. They opened up the incubator and reach inside, gently rubbing the newborn's cheek. The baby seemed to calm down, falling into a more peaceful sleep as the individual watching then smiled. "Hey there, little one, my name's Bro. Well, not really, but I think it sounds cool so everyone calls me that," 'Bro' murmured, mostly just rambling to themselves. "So…uh, I know you're not hearing any of this, look at you all fast asleep, but I guess I just wanted to stop by and say hey. I know you don't know me, and you probably never will, but I'm your guardian angel." They chuckled, "That sounds kind of silly, but it's true. Everyone has one, though some of us take our jobs more seriously than others."

The angel closed the incubator and spent a moment just watching the little one before the sound of rustling feathers caused them to turn around. Another angel was walking up behind them, folding their wings against their back as they approached. "Dave, what are you doing here?" Bro asked. "I thought you already had a charge."

"Yeah, but she didn't make it. Poor girl had so much stuff going on that not even I could help…and, well…now she's gone. At least her kid made it; the doctors seemed worried that they were going to lose him too." The angel, Dave, sighed as they looked down at Bro's charge and smiled. "How come our charges always seemed to be connected in some way?"

Bro raised an eyebrow, "What do you…? Oh, the little guy here was your charge's? So you probably know what's going to happen to him? Does he have any other family to take him in?"

Dave shook their head. "Nah, the kid's parents weren't married and the family wants nothing to do with him, which is stupid. I heard some of the humans talking about it. They're going to try to find someone, but they'll probably be sending him to an orphanage."

Bro nodded and looked back down at the kid, nameless at the moment and yet looking so peaceful as he slept. They usually weren't one to take their duties too seriously; whatever happened to the human happened. Only fussy angels actually made a big effort of doing more than just watching over. However, they had the feeling this kid would need a bit of 'luck', so maybe they could actually try this time around.

Dave started towards the door, wings unfurling behind them as they said a goodbye to their fellow angel and headed off. When they were gone, Bro spent some more time just watching over the newborn before heading out themselves. They weren't quite sure what, but there was something different about this human. Perhaps it was because none of Bro's other charges had started out life like…this. They'd all been born to a family with at least one parent. Sure, some had never made if more than a few months, but humans were fragile and those sorts of things just happened. But…this little one…he had no one. The only one to watch over him was Bro, which wouldn't be a comforting thought to those that knew them. No…they would be here for this human. This one was going to have their full attention. They sighed, nodding their head decidedly before turning towards the door. Bro wanted to stretch their wings before the little one's life began. They murmured a goodbye to the sleeping boy, and then left the room to the nurses still bustling about, oblivious to the pair of incorporeal beings who had been in there moments before.


	2. Age 5

The sound footsteps echoed down the orphanage hallway as children scurried towards the cafeteria for breakfast. Bro followed behind one of the little boys; their charge had certainly grown in the five years they'd been watching over him. There was always a curious sparkle in his brown eyes, which matched almost perfectly with the color of the boy's skin and curly mess of hair.

Morning was one of the times that Bro was grateful for the fact that they were only corporeal when they chose to be. Otherwise, the stampede of children would have surely knocked them over. They smiled a bit as they saw their charge running up to another boy, who was two years older than the five year old and already was quite a bit taller than the younger boy. The poor kid barely came up to his friend's shoulders.

"Simon!" The child yelled, practically ramming into the black-haired boy. Simon stumbled forward, landing on his face as the other kids crowded into the cafeteria. Simon laughed and squirmed around until he could shove the younger boy off of him, ruffling his hair before helping him to his feet.

"Morning, Sai!" Simon greeted, not minding when the smaller boy wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. He returned the embrace for a moment before pulling away. "You gotta see what I found last night. It's really cool!" Simon dug into the pockets of his pajama pants, pulling something out and holding it for his friend to see. In the boy's hands was a frog, squirming in Simon's grip. "I got it when we went to the park the other day," he explained as the younger boy gently poked the frog with a fascinated expression.

"Sainath! Simon! Hurry up or you're going to miss breakfast!" A woman's voice called. Simon hurriedly stuffed the unfortunate frog back into his pocket as both boys turned towards the cafeteria and started to run to breakfast.

"Coming, Ms. Megido!" they chorused and scrambled to get in front of the other to get their food before sitting down with the other kids, who snickered at the pair. The woman gave them an exasperated look and a fond smile, playfully bopping both on the back of the head.

The boys were relatively quiet until the end of breakfast, only occasionally whispering something to each other before bursting into a fit of muffled giggles. Once breakfast was over, the kids were all shooed from the cafeteria and told to go get dressed. Sainath groaned as he followed along behind Simon, preferring to spend the day in his pajamas. Unfortunately, they were only allowed to do that on Saturdays once they had reached schooling age.

The boys sat on their beds after they had gotten dressed, chatting quietly before they needed to head to class. Bro trailed after the pair, wings folded against their back even though no one could see them. They smiled, glad that their charge had a friend. However, they worried about their little one. They wanted the best life for this human, which meant a loving family. The little one needed someone to take care of him.

With a goal in mind, the angel set off to find a suitable candidate and attempt to sway them to adopt the young human. Their charge would be fine for now; the children's classes were safe and boring, anyways.

Outstretched wings carried Bro into the air as they jumped out of an open window, their wingbeats barely making a sound.


	3. Age 6

After a year of paperwork, background tests, and other irritating necessities, Bro's charge was finally able to go to his new home. The angel had specifically picked this human out after watching them for a month. This particular human was a widow, a bit past her prime, with a kind personality and a stable job to support her and the angel's charge. Just what their little one needed to have a good start in the world.

It hadn't taken much persuasion to get the human to adopt the angel's charge. All they had had to do was subtly point them in the right direction. A pamphlet about adoption in their mail, some subtle pushing towards the picture of their charges face when the human showed interest and went to the orphanage. The final touch had been when the adult had seen the little one out playing with his friend. That little puppy look as the younger boy had followed the older boy around had sealed the deal.

On the day that Sainath would be going to his new home, Bro stood with their wing hovering over their charge. The boy was sniffling as he packed up his few personal belongings, torn between excitement about finally having a parent and a real home, nervousness about meeting his new guardian, and sorrow for leaving his friend behind. Bro hated seeing their charge sad; it was a new, unfamiliar feeling that they had when the human was upset. They hadn't really cared much before, but it was different when you were invested in the life of a human.

Their wing curled around the human's frame, draped over his shoulders as the angel crouched down beside him. Their wing would not be felt unless they willed it, but it would bring about the comfort they were trying to give their charge. They smiled faintly as the little one calmed down, holding the little red plush crab he had gotten for his second birthday to his chest. He didn't have a lot, and most of his belongings were a gift for his birthday. The orphanage gave a single gift to each child on their birthday. This was mostly due to the low-funding of the orphanage; however, the children were treated well and the workers did their best for the little ones.

The door opened as another boy entered the shared room, causing Bro to glance over. It was Simon, who walked over to Sainath and sat down with him.

"I can't believe you're leaving." Simon murmured, picking up Sainath's blanket and folding it up so he could put it in the boy's bag. Sainath looked over at him, a few tears still in the corners of his eyes.

"Me either. I'm gonna miss you, Simon." The boy sniffled, causing the other boy to grin and gently hit his shoulder.

"Come on, cheer up! You're going to get a room to yourself! Ms. Megido said that your new mom doesn't have any kids of her own." Simon said, trying to cheer his friend up. He didn't like it when Sainath was sad just as much as the unseen angel didn't.

"Yeah, but I won't get to see you." Sainath pouted.

"Of course you will. You're still going to be in town, right? We'll still go to the same school. We just won't ride the bus together." Simon pointed out.

"I guess." Sainath relented, putting the last of his clothes in the bag. The last thing to put in was his small collection of books. These were the newest gifts he had gotten. His two birthdays he had been getting little pictures books. They were both to help him read and entertain him, since he seemed to like stories so much.

Sainath stood up once he was all packed, his crab toy still held in one arm while the other slung his bag over his shoulder. The two boys hugged before Sainath was called downstairs. After saying their farewells, the smaller boy hurried down the stairs to begin his new life.

His new guardian was tall, he realized as he looked up at the kindly woman before him. Her hair was the same color as Simon's, though her complexion wasn't nearly as pale as the eight-year-old.

"Hello there, you must be Sainath. It's nice to meet you, I'm Rosa Maryam, though you can just call me Rosa." She introduced herself, smiling at the six-year-old standing in front of her. Sainath merely squeaked out a greeting, standing stock-still and looking too nervous to take a step forward.

Rosa gently took his bag from him, but let him carry the toy in his arms. "I've already got everything in order, so we can go home now. Come along now, little one." Her tone was gentle, knowing the little one was probably nervous. Walking over to the door, she waited there for Sainath to follow, letting him take his time.

Sainath might not have walked forward, too nervous and sad about leaving Simon to actually go through with it, had it not been for Bro. The angel gently pushed their charge forward, sending him walking towards the woman. Rosa leaned down, whispering something in Sainath's ear that perked the boy's expression and made him follow happily after her. Bro nodded to theirself, sure they had picked the right human.

It took only a few weeks for Sainath to settle into his new home. Rosa was a kind parent, and spoiled the boy rotten despite her rules. The rules weren't a problem, though, since Sainath followed most rules if they made sense to him. So, Rosa had sat the little boy down and explained why he needed to follow certain rules. That didn't mean he was always obedient; he was a little kid, after all. However, he was a more well-behaved little one. The rules were mostly just to keep him from getting hurt or teach him common sense, anyways.

Bro spent much of their time flying around the neighborhood or lounging around as their charge played. Once the boy was at school, Bro usually left him to go stretch their wings. The school was safe, after all, right?

That first year living with Rosa was a wonderful time for Sainath. Bro hardly had to do anything, only occasionally keeping the little one from tripping. They didn't stop it all the time, since angel weren't supposed to keep their charges from ever getting hurt. The boy was a bit clumsy, though, and his head was often in the clouds. Life was good for both the human and the angel, but life can't always be ups.


End file.
